A Joyful New Beginning
by mckennaa
Summary: Derek has a young daughter who he keeps a secret from everyone except Richard & Adele when he moves to Seattle. He meets Meredith, who he has an undeniable connection with. Will his big secret that he loves dearly keep him from pursing her? (Follows Season 1)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, I'm back, & as promised, a new story!**

 **So I'm not going to give much away, but I will say this follows the first episode pretty closely, and as I get the feel of the story, the less it will follow the actual story lines. I'm not going to give any background, this is going to be one of those read and find out stories :)**

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

I jolt awake when something lands on my ass. It takes me a few seconds to gather my surroundings, and the memories of last night hit me all of a sudden. I grab the black lace bra I ripped off her last night and hand it to her. "This is ..."

"Humiliating on so many levels, you have to go." She says, walking around to the other side of the couch.

"Why don't you just come back down here and we'll pick up where we left off." I joke, hoping she might actually think about it.

She throws my jeans at me. "No, seriously you have to go. I'm late, which isn't what you want to be on your first day of work so ..."

"So uh, you actually live here?" I try to start a conversation as I stand up.

"No."

"Oh." I look around, wondering where we are at then.

"Yes. Kind of." She adds.

"It's nice. A little dusty, odd, but it's nice. So how do you kind of live here?" I ask, glancing around the room.

"I moved two weeks ago from Boston. It was my mother's house and I'm selling it."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"For what?" She asks, sounding annoyed.

"You said 'was'." I say, making sure I heard her right.

"Oh, my mother isn't dead she's- you know what? We don't have to do the thing."

"Oh, we can do anything you want." I smile and grab my shirt. I know one thing I would want, a repeat of last night.

"No the thing, exchange the details, pretend we care. Look, I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower okay, and when I get back down here you won't be here so goodbye, um..."

"Derek." She didn't remember my name, which normally is a bad thing but I don't remember hers either. We probably just never told each other our names or we forgot in the bliss of last night.

"Right, Meredith." We quickly shake hands, and it brings up memories of last night with her soft, slender hands all over my body.

"Meredith." I repeat, seeing how the name sounds. "Nice meeting you."

"Bye Derek." She gives a slight wave as she runs up the stairs. I grab the rest of my stuff and head outside to wait for a cab.

It's not long before the cab pulls up to Richard Webber's house. I swiftly walk to the door, and gently knock.

"Derek! I hope you had a good relaxing night." Adele smiles.

"I did. I had a drink or two at the bar and then went home to sleep. It was nice to sleep and not be woken up by the hospital or Joy." I lied straight through my teeth, and hoped that she believed it.

"That's wonderful. Everyone needs a break every now and then. But anyways, come in. When do you have to be at the hospital? I can make you some breakfast."

"Not for another couple hours, so breakfast would be nice." I followed Adele to the kitchen, and sat at the breakfast bar. Richard rushed in to grab some toast and headed for the door. "What are you in so much of a hurry for?"

"New interns today Derek." He responded before waking out the door.

"Oh great. New interns always suck." I say to no one in particular.

"Richard is always excited when there is a new batch coming, but after a week he is ready to kill them." Adele says while sliding me a plate of pancakes.

"Yeah it really is like that. You hope for some with some promise, but most of the time they either don't have what it takes or just aren't very good. With my specialty, I won't have someone who doesn't care or isn't good enough. It's rare that I find an intern like that, so I just generally hate interns. They screw everything thing up." I sigh, and begin eating my pancakes.

"I wouldn't want someone who has no experience messing around in my brain. No thank you." Adele smiles, and sits next to me with her pancakes.

I swallow another bite before asking about Joy. "How was Joy?"

"She's a pleasure. I wish I had saw her more when she was younger Derek!" She shoved my arm, and I do feel bad. Addison and I were always so busy we never came to visit.

"Things are changing now Adele. Okay?" I give my smile that makes the ladies come running.

"Are you taking her to the hospital or what?" Adele inquired.

"I was going to let her stay in my office till we figure more stuff out. That way I can eat lunch with her and check on her frequently."

"That's a smart idea. Does she always sleep in late?"

"Sometimes. It depends what time she went to sleep." I pause, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm not in a rush so it's fine this morning."

"Oh okay, good. She may have convinced me to stay up to watch Beauty and The Beast when it was already past her bedtime."

"Oh course she did." I laugh, knowing my daughter is good at convincing people. "She could make a great lawyer if she keeps it up."

We both laugh, knowing she has said that is something she would never do. "She really would. She swears up and down that a bunch of strangers wouldn't believe her, but I bet they would."

"Who knows. We both know she can talk to people with no problem. I'm scared she is going to start taking to boys."

"Derek, she still has a few more years before that happens, and it has to happen eventually." Adele laughs, grabbing my plate and taking it to the sink.

"I just don't want it to!" I stomp my foot.

"Hi daddy. I missed you." A familiar little voice causes me to whip around and run in her direction. I scoop her up and squeeze her tight.

"I missed you too love bug." I give one last squeeze before putting her down. "Aunt Adele made pancakes, eat some because we have to leave soon."

"Okay." This time sitting at the dining room table, I sit across from my daughter and admire how beautiful she is. I already know she is going to break lots of hearts when she gets older.

She glances up for a moment. "Dad, why are you staring at me?"

"I was just thinking how you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." I had definitely seen some beautiful girls, but with her mixture of Addison and I, she could easily be a model.

"Daaad!"

"I'm serious."

"What about Mommy?" She questions, with one eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip.

"She's beautiful too, but not as pretty as you Joy."

"That's not nice to say." She retorted.

"Okay, okay, I take it back." I say, hoping to please her.

"Good. You always tell me to be nice to everyone no matter what, and you don't always follow your own advice." She stated, sounding older than what she was.

"I know, I know. Go wash your hands and face, then get dressed because Daddy has to get to work."

"I'm going with you right?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes, if you hurry up." With that, she flew out of the room to get ready. I washed up her plate while she got ready, and once I was done she appeared in the doorway, ready to go. "You ready love bug?"

"Yes." And soon we were out the door, and on our way to the hospital.

* * *

With my daughter's hand in mine, we go to the least used elevator. I don't want my daughter being talked about around the hospital. Me, I can deal with, but not her.

As we reach the floor, I see a group of the new interns running down the hall. One petite blonde reminds me of the beautiful women I met last night, who was also great in bed. I will never see her again, but the night was worth it anyways.

I open the door to my office and let go of Joy's hand. I go over to my desk and pull out paper and crayons, along with a couple books for her to read while I am working. I take a seat on the sofa next her, listen to her read while I'm not needed.

It's not long before my pager starts shrieking. I quickly silence it while getting down eye to eye level with her. "There is paper and crayons on my desk, along with a few more books for you to read while I'm working. I'll try to check on you as often as possible okay? If you need anything, find a nurse and have them page me, okay?"

"Okay." She didn't even look up from her book.

"I will definitely be back for lunch, but hopefully I can stop by sooner. Love you." I give her a quick kiss on the forehead before turning to leave.

"Bye daddy. Love you too." She says sweetly right as I'm about to walk out the door, instantly putting a smile on my face.

That smile is wiped off my face the second I walk into the ER. There are patients everywhere. I have to do a quick consult on two patients who collided while playing soccer.

I see the two boys, obviously related sitting on separate gurneys with their mother in between them. The nurse hands me both charts and I quickly look over them before doing an exam on them.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Shepherd. Which one is Chase and which one is Gavin?"

The little one speaks up. "I'm Gavin, I'm 8, and that's my brother. His name is Chase and he is 10. We were kicking the ball around the back yard when we ran into each other. With our heads."

Their mother is quick to add on. "I brought them straight here since they both have big knots on their heads now. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

I smile, knowing that exact feeling. "I understand, and that's great. I will just give them a quick exam, and they should be good to go."

"Okay, thank you." The mother says softly, before grabbing and holding the younger one's hand.

I walk around to the other side of the gurney, and begin the exam on the older one. "Can you follow the light with your eyes please?"

He nods, and follows the light. "So, what grade are you in?"

He looks to his mother. "Fourth grade." He says, barely audible.

"It's okay to be shy. Everyone has their shy moments. Now squeeze my hands as hard as you can."

He gives a slight smile, and squeezes my hand. "Does your head hurt now?

He shakes his head no.

"Have you thrown up since you hit your head?"

Another no.

"Did you lose consciousness at any point?"

"Nope. I just have this big bump on my forehead, that's it." He responds.

I write in his chart that he is cleared to go home, with no obvious signs of concussion or brain injury. I repeat the process with his brother, finding the same thing. I tell the other to bring them back if they start experiencing symptoms, but otherwise they are both good to go.

It's not long before I'm heading back upstairs to check on my daughter. I open the door of my office to find her sprawled on the couch, sleeping. I see various wrappers spread around, and I know she found my candy stash. I give her a quick kiss on the forehead and cover her with blanket before returning to work.

I find one of my colleagues who wanted me to look over a chart of his patient whose been having horrible headaches.

"Hey Doctor Potter, where is that chart you wanted me to look over?"

"Right here actually." He hands me a chart, and I flip through the first couple pages scanning over the lab reports and patient history.

"Doctor Shepherd! How are you today?" Doctor Kinder asks as he walks up.

"Pretty good, you?" I reply, still looking at the chart in my hands.

"Slow day, but otherwise good. How are you liking Seattle? Adjusted yet?" He questioned.

"Seattle is very different, but I'm liking it. Slowly adjusting to all the rain." I say, finally looking up from the chart.

"That's good. Once you get used to the rain, Seattle isn't that bad." He smiles.

"It seems that way." I smile, and take a quick glance around the room, and look back down at the chart again. I do a double take, since it looked like the girl from last night. On the second look, it is. We lock eyes for a second before she turns and runs. I flip the chart closed quickly. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." I hand him the chart before running after her.

"Meredith, can I talk to you for a second?" I grab her arm, and pull her toward the stairwell. To my surprise, she doesn't resist and just follows where I'm leading her.

"Actually I was-" She pauses to look over the stairs, presumably making sure no one is nearby to hear us. "Doctor Shepherd."

"Doctor Shepherd? This morning it was Derek. Now it's Doctor Shepherd." I say, pretending to be slightly offended.

"Doctor Shepherd, we should pretend it never happened."

"What never happened? You sleeping with me last night or you throwing me out this morning? Because both are fond memories I'd like to hang onto." I smile, remembering how much fun last night was.

"No. There will be no memories. I'm not the girl in the bar anymore and you're not the guy. This can't exist, you get that right?"

"You took advantage of me and now you want to forget about it."

"I did not take-"

I quickly interrupt her. "I was drunk, vulnerable, and good-looking, and you took advantage."

I finally got a smile out of her. "Okay, I was the one who was drunk, and you are not that good-looking."

"Maybe not today. Last night, I was very good looking. I had my red shirt on, you took advantage." I brag and move behind her.

She turns around to look at me. "I did not take advantage."

"Wanna take advantage again? Say, Friday night?" I step closer to her. My eyes stay locked with her green-gray eyes.

She hesitates for a moment before saying no. "You're an attending. And I'm your intern." My eyes travel down to her lips, wondering if they taste the same as they did last night. "Stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?" I ask, pretending not to know what she's talking about.

"Like you've seen me naked." I grin, knowing that's exactly what I was thinking about. "Doctor Shepherd, this is inappropriate. Has that ever occurred to you?"

She leaves the stairwell, and leaves me wanting to know more about the girl from the bar.

* * *

I work my way back to my office, since it is finally lunch time. I swing the door open to find my daughter reading with Richard.

"Hey guys."

"Hey dad, Richard stopped by to check on me and I told him to stay for a while, he looked like he needed a break."

I smile at the sweet nature of my daughter. "That's so sweet of you, but I'm betting Dr. Webber is probably needed somewhere, and it is time for our lunch date."

"I do have some paperwork I need to finish up, but I'd love to read with you more often. Thank goodness your daddy decided to come back to Seattle, right?" Richard asked, tickling her sides.

The room filled with her laughter. "Stop! Stop! I don't like being tickled!"

A smile etches across my face as I see them together. I feel like I made the right decision moving to Seattle, I just wish I had done it sooner.

I move toward them, pretending to protect her from Richard. "Tickle monster, I need to stop so I can take me daughter to get some food. You can hear her tummy rumbling."

Joy giggles, and Richard crosses his arms across his chest. "Fine, but I'll be back." He slides his glasses down his nose enough to see over them, and winks at her, before leaving.

"Uncle Richard is silly." She declares.

"Yes, yes he is. Are you ready to get some lunch?"

"Yes!" She jumps up from her spot on the couch, grabbing her rain coat and shrugging it on.

"So, I was thinking somewhere with spaghetti, what do you think?"

"I would love it!" She throws her arms around me, holding me tight.

"Alright, let's go." I grab her hand, and lead her away from the nurse's station and to the less used elevator. As I'm getting on, I see Meredith again, sprinting for some reason. I can't help but imagine what it would be like dating her.

Of course, someone always picks up on everything I do. She waits till the elevators are shut before saying anything. "Dad, why were you staring at that girl?"

"Well, I just noticed how pretty she is."

She bounces on the balls of her feet and smiles shyly at me. "Okay. As long as she isn't prettier than me, you can ask her out."

I'm taken aback by what she says. "I don't want to ask her out silly, I just think she is very, very pretty. But no one could ever be as pretty as you."

"Okay, but are you just going to stare at her or tell her that she's pretty?"

"Honey, pretty girls like her usually have boyfriends, who would get mad if I did that." I lie through my teeth, since I'm almost one hundred percent positive she's single, or at least she was last night.

"Oh." I kiss her forehead as the elevator door opens, and we head out the building to lunch.

While we are waiting for our food, we have little conversations.

"So, would you ever marry anyone again? Or even date anyone? Cause everyone talks about how step parents suck."

I swallow, knowing that if I were to date it would be complicated by me having a daughter, but she will always come first, no matter what. "If they sucked as a step parent, then I would have to stop dating them. You are more important to me."

"But what about your happiness?"

"As long as I have you, I'm happy."

"You always say that."

"Because it's true. You made my life so much more delightful. Without you, I don't know where I would be right now." I say, remembering when I found out about her.

 _It was our wedding night. Everyone had left, and it was just Addie and I. I filled our bedroom with candles, and covered the bed in rose petals. We sat on the edge of the bed, giving each other a little box, our personal wedding gifts. Addison opened mine first._

" _Aww baby, you got me diamond earrings?"_

" _I thought they would go perfectly with your rings." She smiles, and pulls me in for a kiss. She pushes me away before we go any farther._

" _Okay, so your turn. I know, I know it isn't a lot, but I know you'll love it." She hands me a small rectangular box, wrapped in a red bow. I look at it cautiously, trying to figure out what it is before I open it._

" _I'm gonna try to guess it first." I state._

" _Come on baby, just open it!" She smiles at me, and I know it's going to be good._

 _I pull the ribbon, and it falls to the ground. I take off the top of the box to reveal tissue paper. I pick it up, and it feel like a stick. Unwrapping this stick like thing, it reveals a positive pregnancy test._

" _We are having a baby?" I ask excitedly._

" _We are having a baby, Derek!" I grab her face and kiss her as hard as I can, seeing as I can't wait to see what this baby will have in store for us._

My food being placed in front of me brings me back to reality. I shake off the happy memory, trying to focus on the now.

We eat in silence, but I hear an occasional slurp of spaghetti from across the table followed by a giggle.

"Manners." I say, not to seriously, while doing the exact same thing she just did.

"Excuse me." She bursts out into giggles, and I can't help but laugh at my little girl.

My pager starts shrieking, interrupting the moment. "I'm sorry, but we have to go, it's a 911. I'm gonna drop you off at Aunt Adele's, okay?"

She nods as a lay down two twenties and we work our way out of the packed restaurant. Soon I'm dropping her off, and making my way back to the hospital.

My pager continuously goes off, and I know it's going to be bad. I sprint down the hospital hallways to find my patient, Katie Bryce, had just been brought back after going into v-tach.

"What the hell happened?"

"She had a seizure, and her heart stopped." Meredith says breathlessly.

"A seizure? You were supposed to be monitoring her."

"I checked on her and-"

"I got her, just- just go." I put the stethoscope to her chest, listening to her heart. "Somebody get me her, somebody give me her chart please."

I scribble her current stats as I think about the interns. As usual, none of them show promise and Meredith just proves why I don't like interns. I sigh as the room calms down, and I get a chance to think.

I shake off the thoughts of Meredith, and put myself in full work mode, which means figuring out what's wrong with this damn girl. I take the chart with me back to my office, and go over basics.

No tumor, no pregnancy, no trauma, no brain bleed. It has to be something out of the ordinary, but who knows what the hell it could be. It could be a million different things, and I want to do is go home and snuggle my daughter, but instead, I head to the library and hit the books.

The sun is just peaking over the horizon as I emerge from the library, still with no answer as to with Katie is having seizures. Katie's parents want to talk to me about her treatment, but I have no answers for them. As I approach them, I get the feeling this might not end well.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bryce, I've gone over Katie's labs and scans and have found that it is fact, not a seizure disorder."

"You said it was a seizure disorder. Now you are saying it isn't?" Katie's father questions me.

"I'm saying that I don't know."

"Well what do think it could be?" Katie's mother jumps in, crossing her arms.

I repeat an earlier statement, and I can tell they are starting to get frustrated. "I don't know."

"When will you know?" Mr. Bryce slams his hand against his thigh, becoming more upset.

"I don't have an answer for you." I try to keep my cool as Mr. Bryce seemingly gets more frustrated. "For now, Katie is stable and-"

"Wait one damn minute. We came here because this hospital is supposed to be the best in Washington," He gestures toward the ground. "That's my kid in there," He points toward her room. "And you have the audacity to stand here and tell me I don't know?"

"Mr. Bryce-" I try speaking softly to calm him down and stop him from making a scene, but he interrupts me.

"No, I want someone else, a doctor who knows what they are doing. You get me someone else, someone better than you."

Mr. Bryce turns to walk away from me. "Mr. Bryce, I assure you I am working hard on Katie's case."

He whips back around. "No, you're not. If you were, you would be able to give me some answers."

"Okay." I sigh as they walk away from me. Honestly, I can't blame them. If it was me, and Joy was in this situation, I'd be taking her to a different hospital in a heartbeat, but right now, all that matters is that I find out what is wrong with their daughter. That what intend to do.

I grab Katie's chart from the nurse's station, and head swiftly to my office. While on my way, I page Dr. Bailey to meet me there.

Once in my office, I take Katie's charts and hit the copy button about a dozen times on my printer, and right as it starts printing is when Doctor Bailey arrives.

"You paged, Doctor Shepherd?"

"Yes, I did." I step around my desk to where I'm standing in front of her. "I need your help. I've got this case I can't seem to crack, and I want to give all the interns a copy of her chart. Maybe they will see something I didn't. Do you think you could help?"

"Well, I don't mind but what exactly do you need help with?"

"Just putting her copies chart into folders, and handing them out to interns whenever I gather them all up." I quickly run a hand through my curls. "And I have one question. Do you think that letting them scrubbing in on a surgery if she needs it is a good enough incentive?"

"Oh honey." She puts a hand on her hip. "Just being in that OR would be incentive enough, but let them scrub to. They definitely will be chasing for that answer."

"Good." I sigh. "I started copying the chart already, over there." I point to the printer. "I'm going to page all the interns to the conference room, meet me there in like ten minutes."

"Sure thing, Dr. Shepherd."

I turn to leave, and my stomach starts to rumble. I flick my wrist up to check my watch, and find that I have just enough time to get a protein bar from the vending machine. I put four quarters in and out pops a little tiny protein bar that I shove into my mouth as I walk to the conference room. I page all the interns there, and wait outside for them all to arrive.

Most arrive within minutes of my page, including Meredith. I nod at her as she walks in, and I catch a smile as she turns her head away. Whether or not I think she's a good intern, she damn near the hottest.

Once Bailey arrives with the stack of her chart, that's when I head into the room to give the interns their assignment from me.

"Well good morning." I say to the group, and get various good mornings back. "I'm gonna to something pretty rare for a surgeon. I'm gonna ask interns for help." I walk around the table, and lock eyes with Meredith for just a moment before I continue. "I've got this kid, Katie Bryce. Right now, she's a mystery. She doesn't respond to our meds. The labs are clean, the scans are pure, but she's having seizures, grand mail seizures with no visible cause. She's a ticking clock. She's gonna die if I don't make a diagnosis, which is where you come in." I make my way back up to the front of the conference room. "I can't do it alone. I need your extra minds, extra eyes. I need you to play detective. I need you to find out why Katie is having seizures. I know you are tired; I know you are busy. You've got more work than you can possibly handle. I understand, so I'm going to give you an incentive. Whoever finds the answer, rides with me. Katie needs surgery. You get to do what no interns get to do, scrub in to assist on an advanced procedure. Doctor Bailey is going to hand you Katie's chart. The clock is ticking fast people. If we're going to save Katie's life, we have to do it soon." With that, I turn to leave.

Immediately, I bump into Richard. "Derek, I thought you hated interns."

"I do, but I need them. There is something I'm not seeing, and I just hope they can see it. Plus, this will show me the better interns of the group, if there is any."

We both walk toward his office. "True, but I definitely think I see a couple with some promise. I also like to think that since I picked them, but you never know." He stops walking and faces me. "Meredith Grey has been your intern today, correct?"

I swallow roughly, hoping he didn't already find out I had slept her. That would be awful, since he is the chief and it's a rule not to sleep with or have romantic relationships with subordinates. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"I think she shows great promise. Just like her mother."

"She seemed okay. So I'm guessing her mother is Ellis Grey then?"

He nods. "Yep, but onto other stuff. I've got something for you in my office."

I throw him a questioning glance, but open the door anyways. Immediately a smile etches across my face.

"Dad!" Joy slams into me, causing me to stumble backwards.

"I've missed you baby girl. I'm sorry I couldn't come home last night; I've been very busy at work." I sink down to where we are eye to eye. "I can't promise I'll be home tonight, but I'm going to try really, really hard, okay?"

"It's fine, I love spending time with Aunt Adele and Uncle Richard." She wraps her arms around my neck again, squeezing me right.

"That's good." I stand all up, and ruffle her hair. "You behave for Aunt Adele, Dad has to go back to work and save some lives."

"I will. Remember it's always a beautiful day to save lives!"

"That's right baby girl, that's right." I smile harder, if that's possible. I really don't know what I would do without her, she brightens my day. Hell, she's brighten my life. I kiss her on the forehead before her and Adele leave.

I wave bye to my daughter as she heads home with Adele, and can't help but thank Richard. "Thanks, Richard. I needed that."

"I figured you did. Katie Bryce has been a tough case, and you need a break every once in a while."

"It did help." I nod to him before leaving, to look over her chart once again.

I stop by the nurse's station and see the Katie's chart has been picked up by someone else, I would assume whoever is checking on her vitals.

My stomach lets out a low growl, and I figure I have time to grab something to eat. I head to the elevator, and push the button several times. While I'm waiting I pull out my little notebook that I have written the various causes for seizures, and I start going over them.

Just as the elevator door opens and I step on, I hear someone calling for me. "Doctor Shepherd, just one moment."

I turn around to see two interns standing just outside the elevator doors. "Katie competes in beauty pageants." Cristina states the obvious.

"I know that, but we have to save her life anyway." I look back down at my notebook, going over the possible causes of her seizures.

"She has no headaches, no neck pain, her CT is clean," The elevator door starts to close, and Cristina puts her hand in the way, preventing it from closing. "There's no medical proof of an aneurysm."

"Right." I just want to get to the point of why these two are telling me stuff I already know.

"But what if she has an aneurysm anyway?" Cristina asks.

"There are no indicators." I shove my pen and notebook back into my pockets.

"But she twisted her ankle a few weeks ago when she was practicing for the pageant." She once again steps in front of the door, keeping it open.

"Look, I appreciate you trying to help, but -"

"She fell. When she twisted her ankle, she fell." Meredith interrupts.

"It was no big deal, not even a bump on the head," Cristina holds the door again. "She got right back up, iced her ankle, and everything was fine. It was a fall so minor her doctor didn't even think to mention it when I was taking her history but she did." She grabs the door once again. "She did fall."

"Well do you know what the chance is that a minor fall could burst an aneurysm? One in a million, literately." I say as the door closes, and she doesn't bother to stop it this time. I glance around the elevator at the annoyed faces, and can't help but think what if she is one in a million. I quickly press the open doors button and when they open, I see the two interns staring at me. "Let's go."

"Where?" Cristina asks.

"To find out if Katie is one in a million." I say, walking toward the nurse's station, with the two interns following me. We stop at the nurse's station, and I grab her chart. "Can you two get Katie up for an angiogram? I'm gonna grab a quick snack and meet you guys up there."

They both nod, and run off in the direction of Katie's room. I laugh at the enthusiasm of the interns, they truly are always ready to do what you want them to do, or at least in the beginning. I hand back the chart, and make my way to the nearest vending machine.

I get my granola bar, and head up to the angiogram. Both interns are waiting excitedly near the door as I enter, and they begin.

I have a clipboard that I am going over and writing on, I glance up to check their progress and send up doing a double take. "I'll be damned."

The lab technician points to a little spot on the screen. "There it is."

I step forward to get a better look. "It's minute, but it's there. It's a subarachnoid hemorrhage. She's bleeding into her brain."

"Okay so let's get her to pre-op, and let her parents know. You two, come with me." I motion the two intern to follow me, so I can thank them.

They walk on each side of me, but stay silent. "She could have gone through her entire life without it ever being a problem. One tap in the right spot-"

"And it exploded." Cristina adds.

"Exactly. Now I get to fix it. You two did great work," I glance at both of them. "Love to stay and kiss your asses but I've got to go tell Katie's parents she is having surgery." I lean onto the nurse's station. "Katie Bryce's chart please."

The nurse hands me her chart. "Here you go."

I flip several pages in, and begin updating her chart with the angiogram results and that she is going to need surgery.

"Doctor Shepherd, you'd said that you'd pick someone to scrub in if we helped?" Cristina asked.

"Oh yes, right." I totally forgot about that. "I'm sorry I can't take you both, it's gonna be a full house." I flip the chart closed, and I glance over at Meredith. "Meredith, I'll see you in the OR."

I open the chart again, finishing what I was writing earlier. "Good, thank you." I nod to the nurses before turning to leave.

I stride toward my office, wanting to make a quick phone call before I have to help prep Katie and do her surgery. I fall back into my chair and dial the number.

It rings several times before someone picks up. "Hello?"

"Hey, can I talk to my little munchkin?"

"Of course, let me get her." Adele says before the line gets quiet.

"Dad?" A little voice asks.

"It's me sweetie. How was your day?"

"It was great, but it would have been better if you were here." She says sadly.

"I know, sweetheart. Daddy has to save lives, but guess what?"

"What?"

"We can spend all day together tomorrow, and the next day. How does that sound?"

"I would love it! I can't wait!" She yells into the phone, and it brings a smile to my face.

"Behave for Aunt Adele. I have a surgery to go do, then I'll be there to get you."

"Okay, love you, dad."

"Love you too baby." I say, then the line clicks, and I know she's hung up. I glance at the picture of her on my desk, and I can't help but smile.

I peer at my watch, and notice that is it just about time to start prepping Katie. I make my way to where Katie is in pre-op, and see her flipping through a magazine.

"Hey, Katie, I'm here to finish your prep work."

"Okay." She doesn't even look up from her magazine.

"You know that I have to shave part of your head, right?"

"What?" That got her to look at me, and she looks terrified.

"I do."

"You can't. I can't be a bald beauty queen, that's the worst!" She quips.

"How about I promise you that I'll make you look cool, and we will sedate you." I say, trying to make her happier.

"Fine." She crosses her arms, and I call a nurse over.

"Go ahead and sedate her, and get me the razor so I can finish prepping her."

"Yes, Doctor Shepherd." The nurse nods, and does as I say.

Within a few minutes, I'm shaving off her long blonde locks.

Not long after that, Meredith walks in. "I promised I'd make her look cool. Apparently being a bald beauty queen is the worst thing that happened in the history of the world." I shut the razor off, since I'm basically done.

"Did you chose me for surgery because I slept with you?" Meredith asks.

"Yes." I didn't really, but I actually like her. Plus, she's been on Katie's case since the start. I slide around the table quickly to put the razor away. "I'm kidding."

"I'm not gonna scrub in for surgery. You should ask Cristina; she really wants it."

"You're Katie's doctor, and on your first day, with very little training, you helped save her life. You earned the right to follow her case through to the finish. I lean closer to her, and I talk a little softer. "You shouldn't let the fact that we had sex get in the way of you taking your shot."

She stares at me for a moment before saying anything. "Okay."

I smile at the beautiful women in front of me, who I miss judged earlier. If she tackles every case like she did, and solves them like she did, she will definitely make an amazing surgeon. Hell, I might finally have an intern who can be helpful to me, and who I can teach to. She would make a wonderful neurosurgeon if she keeps up the good work. "See you in surgery Doctor Grey."

"See you." She says before leaving.

I let the nurses know I'm done, and that they can move her to the OR now.

In the scrub room, I put on my fish scrub cap and mask. I walk into the OR, and glance around the crowded room. "Alright everybody. It's a beautiful night to save lives, let's have some fun."

I turn back to the scrub room to scrub, and I see Meredith standing there. I nod at her, and I'm pretty sure under that mask there is a smile. I can't help but want to know more about her, but right now I have a life to save.

After scrubbing my arms, the nurses help me into my gown and gloves, and I step up to Katie's head. "Scalpel."

I lose track of time as the surgery goes on, as soon I'm getting ready to place the clip. I glance up, and notice Meredith trying to get a good look. We lock eyes for a moment, and I motion for her to come closer.

As she steps up to the microscope, I can't help but stare at her for a moment. She doesn't notice my staring, but I can't help it, she's gorgeous. I look back into the microscope to place the clip.

The rest of the surgery is a breeze, and next thing I know I'm scrubbing out. Meredith had disappeared quickly after the surgery, but I'm sure I'll see her soon. With that, I grab her chart and head to the nurse's station.

I know I walk past her, but I want to finish Katie's chart before I have a conversation. I take off my scrub cap, and grab a pen from behind the nurse's station. I can feel her eyes on me, and after about a minute she speaks.

"That was amazing."

I can't help but smile at her, remembering my first surgery and how incredible I felt afterwards.

"You practice on cadavers, you observe, and you think you know what you are going to feel like standing over that table, but that was such a high." I continue to stare at her, not saying anything. "I don't know why anybody does drugs."

I am mesmerized by her, so I have no idea what to say back. "Yeah"

We lock eyes for a moment, but she smiles and looks down. "Yeah."

I shake my head, smiling, knowing now that I will have to get to know her. Somehow, or someway. "I should, uh, go do this."

"You should." She smiles again.

"I'll see you around." I say right as I'm about to leave.

As I'm walking away, I hear her say "See you around, see ya." It brings a smile to my face knowing that I will see her again.

As I walk slowly to the family waiting area to update Katie's parents, I can't help but think about the girl from the bar. More specifically, how I am going to get her to date me, but then I remember my daughter. Whatever happens, I know it won't be easy.

* * *

 **Whoa** **, that was a long chapter huh? I don't know if every chapter will be this long, but I'll try :)**

 **So, what do you think? Are you intrigued? What happened to Addison, or where is she? Most importantly, should I continue this story? Please leave a review and let me know!**

 **Thank you for reading, it means a lot :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys, I'm back with another chapter, this one covering 1x02. Thank you guys for the reviews, and enjoy!**

* * *

I awake to a blaring alarm, and I force myself up to turn it off, before heading to the shower. I wash and condition my hair quickly, before stepping out and wrapping a towel around my lower half. I dress quickly, and head back to the bathroom to put moose in my hair to tame my wild curls.

I walk to my daughter's bedroom and watch her sleep for a little from the doorway. I sigh, seeing how big she has gotten. I can remember it like yesterday when she was placed in my arms.

" _One last push Mrs. Shepherd, your baby is almost here." The nurse yells over Addison's cries._

 _"Derek, I don't think I can do this." She squeezes my hand harder. "I'm not ready to be a mother."_

 _"Honey, you are going to be an excellent mother." I lean down to kiss her quickly, and rest my forehead on her sweaty forehead. "You've got this."_

 _"Okay." She whimpers. "I can do this."_

 _I nod, holding her hand between mine. "One last push."_

 _"Oh my, holyyyy crap this hurts!" She cries._

 _"And baby is here, and it's a girl!" The OB resident adds. "Dad, would you like to cut the cord?"_

 _"Yes," I say, walking down to the bottom of the bed, taking the scissors from a nurse._

 _"Right here." The nurse points where to cut, even though I already know where I need to cut. In one little snip, my daughter is free. The nurse immediately takes her over across the room, to slightly clean her up and clear out her nose and throat, so I go back to Addison's side._

 _"Oh." She falls back onto the bed and breathes heavily. "It's a girl, we have a little girl Derek." She says breathlessly._

 _"She's beautiful. I told you could do it." She rests her head against my arm, and I kiss her forehead._

 _I hear a tiny wail, and I already know who it's coming from. I try to see her through the crowd of nurses, but I'm unsuccessful. That's until one of them turns around with her in her arms._

 _The nurse walks my way, cradling my daughter who is swaddled in a light pink blanket. "Would you guys like to hold her?"_

 _"Yes, of course." I say, holding out my arms. The nurse places her softly in my arms, and I pull her close, snuggling her. "Look, babe. She gorgeous." I move to where Addison can see her better._

 _"Oh my gosh Derek, she is perfect." Addison lightly strokes her cheek, and her eyes flutter open enough for me to see her bright blue eyes. "Hi baby, I'm your Daddy." I lean down to kiss her soft forehead, and I can't help but smile._

I find myself kissing her forehead again, but it's not quite as soft as when she was baby, but it's still soft. She stirs a little, rolling over to her other side.

I glance at my watch, and see it's almost time for me to leave for work, and the sitter will be here any minute. She wanted to go to the hospital again with me today, but I just couldn't. It's her summer, she should be outside playing not cooped up in a hospital while her Dad works. So I let the sitter know that I needed her today. Maybe next time, if she really wants to, I'll take her to the hospital with me.

A faint knock causes me to jump, and I jar Joy awake. "Dad?"

"Yes honey?"

"What time is it?" She asks, rubbing her eyes.

"To early for you to be up. Go back to sleep pumpkin." She lays back, and I pull the blanket up around her before leaving another kiss on her forehead.

"Have a good day at work Dad." She yawns and snuggles down into the blankets, and head to the door. "I love you."

"I love you too, Joy." I say before softly pulling her door shut.

I move down the short hallway and into the living room, to open the front door. "Samantha, hey."

"Mr. Shepherd, I've told you to call me Sam. You know I don't like Samantha." She scolds.

I open the door wider, allowing her to come in. "And I've told you to call me Derek."

"Ah, I know." She sits on my couch. "It's the respect thing, ya know? I don't feel like I've known you long enough to call you Derek."

"Fair enough, I guess." I shrug, and move toward the kitchen. "So you know my shifts run kind of long, feel free to call me and I can come get her. She loves the hospital anyways, I just don't think it's good for her to be there for her whole summer."

"Yeah, she's got a ton of energy." Sam adds.

"Yep, but I don't think it's good for you to spend all day babysitting, so please call me when you need a break." I turn on the coffee machine, and get it warming up. "This is just till I can find something more permanent."

"I know, but I really enjoy Joy." Sam scrunches up her face, and lets out a giggle. "That sounded weird, but I love her name. I really do."

I pour my coffee into my travel mug. "She brings joy to my life."

"Cheesy." Sam giggles.

"I love cheese." I smirk.

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes." You better get going soon, you don't want to be late."

"Why are you in such a hurry to get me out of here huh?" I question while I put the lid on my coffee.

"Uh, so I can go back to sleep." She pulls the blanket up to her chest.

"Mh, okay." I grab my bag and head for the door. "Call me if you need anything."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." I shut and lock the door behind me.

I hurry down the stairs, knowing I'm already running late. I'm glad I got the apartment. It's close to the hospital, and it's just more convenient. I do love the trailer I got too, along with the land, but I know I couldn't fit Joy and I in there. The apartment is better for Joy, so she has her own room and it's walking distance to the park. I reach the bottom of the stairs and glance up at her window, I can see various stickers and toys in the window. I smile, knowing how much she loves the view from her window.

I sigh, knowing if I don't leave in the next couple minutes that Richard will probably be pissed. I jump into the driver's seat, and back out of my parking spot swiftly, and head toward the hospital. Thankfully, the ride to the hospital is relatively short.

The first thing I do is head straight to my office to drop off my stuff, then I head to the nurse's station for my post ops charts to see how they are doing this morning.

I round on them quickly, even though I see that the interns already have. It's not that I don't trust the interns, most days I don't actually, it's just I'd prefer to hear from my patients myself. I think it's better for the patients and me, being the one treating them. Since I missed rounds with the interns this morning, most of them seem a little annoyed to be bothered a second time this early in the morning, but I try not to take it to heart.

Richard paged me, non-urgent but still. I just finished with my patients, so I head to the elevator. I push the button several times before stepping back and pulling out my flip phone.

I glance up to see the cute intern approaching me, carrying a stack of folders. She steps in front of me, and I realize that she is just using the elevator, not approaching me, but I can't help but start a conversation anyways. "Seattle has ferryboats."

She takes a moment to respond. "Yes."

"I didn't know that. I've been living here six weeks." I glimpse up at the intern standing in front of me for a few seconds before returning to what I was doing on the phone. "I didn't know there were ferryboats."

"Seattle is surrounded by water on three sides." She adds, never turning around.

"Hence the ferryboats." The elevator dings, and shove the flip phone in my pocket. "Now I have to like it here. I wasn't planning on liking it here. I'm from New York, genetically engineered to dislike everywhere, except Manhattan." We both enter the elevator, and I press the fifth floor button. "I have a thing for ferryboats." The elevator door shuts, with just the two of us in it.

"I'm not going out with you." She says after a couple seconds.

"Did I ask you to go out with me?" I look over my shoulder, just enough to see her in my peripheral vision. I grin a little, hoping I'm flustering her. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"I'm not dating you, and I'm definitely not sleeping with you again. You're my boss."

"I'm your boss's boss." I glance up to see that we aren't even at floor two yet, and I can already tell this elevator ride is going to be interesting.

"You're my teacher, and my teacher's teacher, and you're my teacher."

"I'm your sister, I'm your daughter." I mock her.

"You're sexually harassing me." She fires back.

"I'm riding an elevator." I respond, and I try to keep myself from glancing back at her.

"Look, I'm drawing a line. The line is drawn. There's a big line."

"So, this line," I turn to face her. "Is it imaginary or do I need to get you a marker?"

I watch as her eyes go from my eyes to my lips, and she lunges forward. Her soft lips catch mine, and she drops all the files just as she backs me into wall. Her hands on the sides of my face keep me from leaving, even though I don't want to break the kiss at all. My hands find her hips and I spin us around so she's against the wall. I wrap my arms around her back, holding her close as she opens her mouth, allowing my tongue to enter. I allow her to take control again, and we flip back around to where I'm against the wall. Her tongue fights mine for dominance, until the elevator dings letting us know it's arrived at the floor.

She pulls away and glances up for a second at the floor number, before crouching down to grab the files she dropped just a few seconds ago. I lick my lips, enjoying the taste of her that she left on my lips. The elevator door slides open just as she is finishing picking of her files, and she clears her throat as she darts away.

"We'll talk later?" I ask, but I doubt she hears as the elevator closes again. I ponder for the rest of the elevator ride on how I'm going to convince her to go out with me.

I don't notice the elevator doors open till one of the nurses says something. "Doctor, are you getting off on this floor or what?"

"Yeah." I shake off the thoughts of the intern, I can't do that because I have a daughter and I don't know what she would think about that or how it would affect her. I just can't.

I stride towards Richard's office, and I knock twice before entering. "Hey Webber, you paged?"

"Hey Shep, I did. I was wondering if you left Joy with the sitter or not today?" He didn't even bother looking up from his paperwork.

"I left her with the sitter. The kid has to enjoy her summer; she can't spend it every day at the hospital." Even though she fights me every day over it, she can't always win. She already won my heart a thousand times over so it's only fair that I win some battles.

"She deserves that." Richard takes his glasses off and sets them in front of him. "I want to take you, Joy, and Adele out to eat sometime soon, my treat. We've enjoyed having Joy over, and we have agreed that we want to see her more. Plus, it's nice to see you sometimes too, considering you are always so busy."

"I'm sure Joy would love it. Just let me know a time and place." I nod before turning to leave.

"Shepherd," I turn back around, standing about half way between the door and his desk. "I also just got a call down from the ER, there's a rape victim and she has a suspected head injury. Work your magic Shepherd, she's gonna need it."

"I will." My pager started buzzing. Quickly checking it, I see it's a 9-1-1 to the ER. "It's the ER, I better go. I'll update you whenever we have news."

"Thanks Shep." I jog to the elevator, and rapidly press the buttons hoping it come go faster.

My pager starts going off again, and I can't help but groan. This time it's saying that she is on her way to x-ray and C.T. I let out a breath, knowing that the scans take a few minutes and I should be fine. I press the button again, and the elevator door finally opens.

When I finally get to the CT room, I see the intern that jumped me earlier along with Doctor Burke. "Doctor Grey, Doctor Burke, what do we have?"

"Rape victim. She's a 25-year-old female found at the park. She came in with a GCS of of six, and a B.P. of 80 over 60. She has blunt head trauma, unequal breath sounds, and her right pupil is dilated." Meredith hands me the girl's chart. "We are just waiting on the scans to come up."

I look through the glass of what I can see of the girl. I can see that she is really banged up, but without the scan we can't know what other injuries she has. "Did they at least catch the guy?"

"No, or at least not yet." Doctor Burke sighs.

"Scans are up." Meredith says.

"She definitely got a bleed. We have to get her to the OR right away." I shake my head. This poor girl didn't deserve to go through this, no one does.

Burke point at the screen. "What do you see there Grey?"

She cocks her head to side. "It looks like some kind of rupture. She will need that taken care of too."

"Good job Grey. Get her to the OR so we can save this girl." Burke responded.

The three of us filed out of the CT room, Meredith going with the patient, and Burke and I heading toward the OR.

We both head to the scrub room to get ready. I put on my fish scrub cap, and Burke puts on a weird flowery one. "Nice scrub cap."

"Thanks." We both put on our masks as the patient is wheeled into the OR. "You ready for this Shepherd?"

I grab a soap bar and begin scrubbing my hands and arms. "Ready to save her life."

"Yep." Burke nods before heading into the OR.

I hang back a second to let the nurses finish putting his gown and gloves on. I can't imagine what I would do if someone even looked at my daughter like that, let alone actually touching and hurting her. I would probably go to jail for murder honestly. I wonder what her family is thinking right now.

I step through the doors into the cold OR. The nurses quickly help me into the gown and gloves, along with putting the glasses on my face. I work my way to her head, that is all prepped and ready to.

"It's a beautiful day to save lives." I whisper to myself.

"Did you say something Shepherd?" Burke asks without looking up from what he is doing.

"Nope. Scalpel." I hold my hand out, and the scrub nurse quickly put the scalpel in my hands, and I begin cutting.

The surgery is quiet for a while, except for the occasional asking of an instrument. I glance up to see a couple interns quietly watching, and I can't help but notice that Meredith is among them.

I decide to break the silence. "She is gonna spend a hella long time in recovery and rehab." Just looking at her brain injuries, I can tell it's not going to be an easy recovery either.

"If she survives." Burke adds.

"What is she, like 5'2, 100 pounds? She's still breathing after what this guy did to her? If they catch the guy, they should castrate him." He definitely deserves do go down for what he did her.

"She how shredded her hands are?" Doctor Burke points out. "She tried to fight back."

"Tried too? The rape kit came back negative." I remember a nurse coming in about an hour ago to let us know that it came back negative. "She kicked his ass."

"So, we have a warrior among us, huh?" Burke chuckles.

"Allison." Meredith speaks up. "Her-her name is Allison."

"Allison." I repeat.

"I think I may have found the cause of our rupture." Burke scrunches his face as he digs something out of her.

"More suction." I whisper to my assist.

I glance up to see Burke pull something out of her and hold it up for the whole ER to see. "What is this? Does anyone know what this is?"

"Oh my god." I head Meredith say quietly, and I don't bother to look up.

"What? Spit it out Grey." Burke ordered.

"She bit it off." The intern got my attention, and now I am staring at whatever the hell she bit off.

"Bit off what?" Burke questions.

"That's his," She pauses for a moment, "his penis."

Everyone in the OR collectively cringes. Burke's eyes go wide and glances from Meredith to the thing in between the forceps in his hand.

"She bit off his penis." Meredith adds, trying to clarify what she meant. Burke tosses the forceps into a tray.

"Wow." Is his only response.

"Wow is right." I add. "Suction."

* * *

"Ouch." Is all I say as Doctor Burke and I scrub out.

"If she can fight the infection, she'll be fine." Burke and I scrub our arms side by side, and we watch as they wheel her out and into recovery.

"It's all going to depend on whether or not she wakes up in the next 72 hours." I shake my hands over the sink, and then grab a towel.

"Yo, we should get a drink later. You can tell me the long story of what makes a hotshot doc leave the big apple for Seattle." Burke grabs a couple towels and dries his hands and arms before throwing it away.

"Short story, actually. Your Chief of Surgery made me an offer I couldn't refuse." There are many other reasons, but that is just one of them.

"Richard asked you to come?" He asks.

Actually, I had called him but Burke doesn't need to know that. I wasn't expecting him to offer me so much, but it worked out in the end.

 _I tapped my fingers on the desk rapidly. If I called him, he could offer me a job. Or he could want to know personal details as to why I want to leave New York, and I don't to have to explain that. He is gonna kill me since I haven't called him in forever. He loves Joy, but then again he lives so far away so that's a good enough excuse._

 _I give in, knowing that I have to get a job if I am going to leave this place. I dial his number quickly, and wait for him to pick up._

 _"Shepherd! I haven't heard from you in forever! How is Joy?" He asks._

 _"She great, but that's not what I'm calling about."_

 _"Really, because I haven't seen my goddaughter in forever. It's about time you pay a visit Derek."_

 _"Actually, I was calling to see if you had a position open there at uh, what's the hospital called?"_

 _"Seattle Grace, and you would be a perfect Head of Neuro here."_

 _I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "Really? That's great but I have to know what else comes in the offer." I had already decided before I even called that I would try to hustle him into a better deal. "Other hospitals have been very, well, let's say generous."_

 _"Well, you are a world class neurosurgeon, they would be stupid not too."_

 _"So, what do you have to offer?" I grin, knowing I'm going to get exactly what I want._

 _"Head of Neuro, six figures, and you'll be considered for Chief whenever I step down."_

 _"I got similar offers, except they wanted to help pay for moving costs to help me get there faster." I half smile, and lean back in my chair._

 _"I can do that Derek. Head of Neuro, six figures, thrown in the running for Chief, and moving costs. Sound like a deal?"_

 _I let out a sigh of relief that it worked. "We have a deal."_

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, nothing."

I grab the chart and tuck under my arm. "See you later." I nod as I leave.

I make my way to my office, and fall in to my chair. Gosh am I thankful that I got a big plush comfy chair to sit in. It's perfect for after a long surgery when I just need to put my feet up.

I sigh, knowing what I need to do next is going to suck. I open the bottom drawer of my desk and pull out a heavy phone book. I flip it open and look for Mercy West's number, and when I find it, I quickly dial it and ask if they had anyone come in the ER with a bitten off penis. The answer is no, so I go through and call other hospitals in the area, with no luck.

He will have to go for medical attention soon, assuming his injuries will get the best of him. I had told the hospitals I talked to that if he should come in, to call Seattle Grace. He deserves to go down for what he did.

Richard steps in the room and closes the door softly behind him without saying anything.

"What's up Richard?"

"The girl has no family. Parents are dead, no siblings, no nothing. She just moved here three weeks ago. I thought I'd let you know." Richard lets out a sigh.

"Damn. I'm gonna go check on her now, actually." I say, walking toward the door.

Richard follows me out of my office. "Good. Keep a close eye on her."

"I will." We part ways, and I make my way to her room in the ICU.

To my surprise, I find Meredith standing outside her door. "Man, I've called every hospital in the county. I don't know." I glance at Meredith, and she is just staring at the girl lying in the bed through the glass. I slide in her room to check on her vitals. "Sooner or later the guy that did this is going to seek medical attention." I shine the pen light in her eyes, watching her pupillary response. "And when he does, that penis you are carrying around is going to nail him."

"Where is her family?" Meredith inquired.

"Doesn't have any." I check that the ventilator is secured quickly before heading to update her chart.

"No siblings?" Meredith questions.

"No. Both parents are dead. She just moved to Seattle three weeks ago." I set the chart down on the nurse's station and pull out my pen. "Welcome to the city."

I write down her vitals, and can't help but notice that Meredith is being quiet. I glance over my shoulder at her. "Meredith, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She responds. "I just have to do something. I have to go."

I turn around in time to watch her start to walk away carrying the cooler with the penis. "All right. I'm going to sit with her." I sit in the chair near the entrance of the room with her chart on my lap.

I sit in there, unmoving for several minutes until I remember that Joy is with the sitter. I pull out my phone, and call Richard office.

It's a couple rings before he answers. "Hello?"

"Hey Richard. Joy is with the sitter at my apartment, and I think I'm going to stay all night to keep an eye on Allison, do you think you could pick her up?"

"Of course Derek. I'm actually getting ready to leave now."

"Perfect. I'm going to call them and let them know you are on the way and for her to have her stuff ready, okay?" I pull the lever on the side of the chair, making the foot rest pop up.

"Okay Shepherd, I'll talk to later."

"Talk to you later." I snap the phone shut, and move to where I'm more comfortable before calling Sam.

She picks up on the first ring, unlike Richard. "Hey."

"Hey Sam."

"What's up Mr. Shepherd?" She asks.

"Richard Webber is coming to get Joy, I'm staying the night at the hospital. Thank you for watching her today."

"It's no problem, and I guess have to clean up a little now. Do you want to talk to Joy?"

"Yes, duh." I let out a chuckle.

I hear some movement over the phone, but in seconds I hear her voice. "Hey Dad."

"Heyyyy." I smile.

"Are you on your way home?"

"No honey, that's why I called. Richard is coming to get you, and I'm staying the hospital for the night." I sigh. I hate leaving her with sitter or someone to watch her constantly, but it has to happen with my job.

"You are saving a life, right?"

"Yes, yes I am." I already saved her, now I'm just waiting to see if she'll ever wake up. It may be awhile, but I think she will pull through.

"That's all that matters to me then. As long as you are saving a life, it's fine." I can't help but smile at her words. She always can make me smile, even in the worst of times.

"I am Joy. I am. How was your day?" I ask, hoping to get to talk to her a little longer. I just love hearing her voice.

"It was great. Sam took me to the park for like an hour, before we got to hot and came back and got some ice cream. Then she made us lunch."

"You had dessert before you had your lunch?" I pretend to sound shocked.

"Yes, Dad. You can do that. I still ate my lunch so it was fine."

"Good girl." I praise her.

"Richard is here, got to go!"

"Alright, love you."

"Love you too, see you tomorrow." I can't help but smile again. I know that when I get home I'm going to squeeze her tight and never let her go.

"See ya." I say before the line disconnects. I close the phone again, and slip it into my pocket.

I rise to my feet, to check her vitals and pupillary response again, and it's the same as last time. I slouch down into the chair, and decide to get a little shut eye.

I awake to see her vitals are holding steady, and it's only been about an hour since I fell asleep the first time.

Feeling better after my cat nap, I get up to stretch out my limbs. Especially after sitting in that chair, it's definitely not comfortable at all. I only slept in it for an hour and my neck already hurts.

I walk to the empty attending's lounge to make myself some coffee. Pouring the hot liquid into one of the styrofoam cups makes an aura of the coffee smell. I take a deep breath in through my nose, enjoying the smell as I mix sugar into my coffee. I take a sip, and can't help but moan at the wonderful taste. I quickly put the lid on, and make my way to the vending machines for a snack.

I select the trail mix, since that seems to be the healthiest option available. Of course with my luck, it gets stuck and doesn't come out. So I put a another dollar in, select the trail mix again and they both fall to the bottom. I grab them both and work my way back to her room, but not before grabbing several of my patients charts.

I fall back into the chair, and get myself set up so I can catch up on charts and snack on my trail mix, as well as have my coffee within reach. I stay like this for a couple hours, and I manage to catch up on all my charting without gaveling to force a sloppy intern to do it.

I check her vitals again and jot them down on her chart before returning all the charts to the nurse's station. I sit back in the chair, and allow myself to sleep again.

The next time I awake, I can tell it's almost sunrise. I grab myself another cup of coffee and begin working on stuff outside of her room.

After a while, I hear footsteps approaching me along with the sound of a cooler and I know it's Meredith. "How is she?"

"No change." I peer through the glass momentarily at the girl, and I just can't help but hope for the best, even though it's not looking so good so far.

"Have you been here all night?" Meredith asks softly.

"Mhm." I don't bother looking up from what I'm doing. "Yep. You know I have four sisters. Very girly, tons of kids. If I was in a coma they would all be here. I'd want them here. Not having no one? I can't imagine that."

"I can."

"What are you talking about? What about your mother?" I now look up her and her soft features, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. "She be here ordering all the surgeons around." I get up and rinse my hand at the nearby sink. "She'd fly these cowboys in from Prague to do these amazing medical procedures."

"That's true. I do have my mother." Meredith stays unmoving, staring into Allison's room.

I dry my hands as I walk over to stand next to her, and I cross my arms. "So, we're kissing but we're not dating?"

"I knew that was going to come up." She finally looks at me, and I am mesmerized but her green eyes.

I keep up the flirting though. "Don't get me wrong, I like the kissing. I'm all for the kissing. More kissing I say."

"I have no idea what that was about."

"Is it going to happen again? 'Cause if it is, I need to bring breath mints." I lower my voice loud enough for just her to hear. "Put a condom in my wallet."

"Shut up now." She sasses.

"There's this baby up in the nursery. He's brand-new. No one's neglected or damaged him yet. How do we get from there to here? She's wearing my shoes, and someone's beat the crap out of her, and she's got nobody." Before Meredith can finish what she is saying, alarms in Allison's room start blaring.

"Her ICP doubled! Get an OR and prep for a craniotomy!" I shout. I check her pupils quickly. "Let's hang a mannitol, take a blood gas." I order the nurses.

Once we get her ready, we start moving toward the OR.

* * *

I walk out the OR to find Meredith with the cooler waiting just outside. I yank off my scrub cap. "I uh, had to leave her skull flap off until the pressure in her brain goes down."

"She's not gonna make it, is she?"

I can't help but stare into her beautiful green eyes. "She going to be fine."

"If she ever wakes up."

"If she ever wakes up." I repeat. With that, I leave Meredith in the hallway.

I head to the nurse's station to put her chart back, and I pick up a different one of a patient I need to check on and put it under my arm.

I see Burke, and decide that after today, I need a good drink. "Doctor Burke, I'm off at six, you want to get that drink we talked about?"

He turns around to face me and shoved his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "I don't think so."

"Well, what about tomorrow night?"

"Shepherd, you should know that Richard promised Chief to both of us." He pauses, and watched me skeptically. "But you knew that already."

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." I repeat the phrase I've heard a thousand times.

"You are not the enemy. You're just the competition." He says before walking away.

I turn and walk the other way, and can't help but wonder what would happen if I did become Chief. It definitely would take time from Joy, and I'm not sure I would want that.

I head to my patients room to find a resident checking his vitals and stuff. "Thank you." I hand them the chart.

"You're welcome. You just seemed really busy with the rape case." The resident scribbles down the notes on the chart.

"I was, I gotta go." I say, before turning to leave.

I find his room, and I purposely push open the door, slamming it against the wall. Unfortunately, that doesn't wake him so I hit the bottom of his bed, and that does the trick.

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is Doctor Bailey stopped the bleeding. The bad news is we are giving your penis to the cops. Have a nice life." I don't even wait for a response before leaving.

I feel the need to go check on Allison, and when I do, there is still no change. I head out to the nurse's station and lean against, while I make a phone call.

"Hey Joy, I wanted to call to check on you."

"I'm fine Dad, Uncle Richard is watching me."

"I know, I just want to hear your voice. I've missed you." I sigh.

"I've missed you too. When are you coming home?"

"Later tonight." I watch Allison's room, I see her eyes start to open. "Joy, I have to go." I put down the phone, not even bothering to wait on a response.

I walk into the doorway, and watch as her eyes open all the way. "Welcome back."

I wave a nurse over, and ask her to take out Allison's breathing tube since she seems to be breathing over it. I sit down once again in that uncomfortable chair, and gently try to explain what happened.

Tired and ready to see my daughter, I set a good resident on her case to keep an eye on her. Knowing she's okay, I finally relax for the first time since she came in yesterday.

It's not long before I'm pulling up at Richard's house. I enter, not even bothering to knock.

Joy almost tackles me she comes running at me so hard. "Amberly Joy Shepherd, how many times have I told you not to run in the house?"

"Sorry Dad, I've just missed you." She squeezes me tighter, and I squeeze back.

"I missed you to baby girl." I push a piece of her hair out of her face. "Let's go home and watch a movie, how does that sound? And we have all day tomorrow to play!"

"Yay!" She jumps up down.

"Go grab your stuff and we will go." I watch as she disappears down the hall. I hug Adele quickly. "Thank you guys again for watching her."

"It's no problem, she truly is wonderful, Derek." Adele reassures me with a smile.

"Thank you." I nod.

I watch as Joy comes skipping down the hallway. "I'm ready Dad!"

"Let's go then, Love bug." I wrap an arm around her, and lead her out the door.

"Did you save a life today Dad?"

"Yes, yes I did."

* * *

 **So, what do you think? Leave a review!**

 **You guys will slowly start to learn things, I'm not going to give it all away at once!**

 **I've decided I'm only going to update once a month, because that is what works for me :)**


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